Of course, they are needed. But do we require so many?
Civis has severe reservations about bombastic Auckland Mayor Wayne Brown. Civis is in some agreement, however, with Mr Brown’s rants last year about the orange disease — no we are not referencing Donald Trump.
Apparently, Auckland Transport has been spending $145 million a year on traffic management.
The matter flared more recently when the cost of a raised Auckland pedestrian crossing (including all the ancillary works) was $490,000.
A total of $142,000 of that was for traffic management alone.
Public outrage and pressure can shake up bureaucracies and can make a difference. In this case, it would seem, that Auckland Transport and New Zealand Transport Agency Waka Kotahi (NZTA) have made moves towards "site-specific" arrangements rather than "highly" prescriptive regulations. That policy would end, at least, the example of massive cone overkill in quiet cul-de-sacs.
Another change is the use of more temporary lane configurations instead of stop-go operators in place for weeks on end.
No wonder Regulation Minister and Act leader David Seymour finds plenty of public sympathy in his crusade to reduce red tape.
Surely, a little more responsibility can be placed on motorists without endangering road workers, pedestrians or other drivers. Some Western nations seem to be able to do so with simpler rules and without significantly compromising safety.
In one wasteful Dunedin example, observed by Civis recently, a woman was standing on a quiet street — around from the works on the road itself — bored out of her hi-vis jacket.
Surely, too, for short stretches of road around power pole repairs, tree pruning or road works, drivers can see when to give way and can act courteously. They do it all the time on narrow streets anyway.
Like so much in life, it is about pragmatism and balance — in this case between safety and inconvenience.
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A little research reveals some cones are made in Auckland, and that old cones can be recycled into new ones. One estimate suggests 50,000 a year are imported, traditionally from the United States but more these days from China.
They aren’t cheap. One "safety" store was selling the "classic" 900mm high and 4.5kg cones for $43.14 plus GST each. Smaller cones, with only a single reflective strip, were going for $14.50 plus GST.
Then there are the pop-up cones (retractable or collapsible) with a weighted base and built-in flashing light at $78.34 plus GST. You can also buy mid-sized coloured cones ($33 plus GST) and cones can be branded.
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Today’s road cones came into being after a painter in Los Angeles from 1940 devised a way to keep vehicles from wet paint. Instead of the concrete markers then used, or flimsy wooden and inconvenient warning tripods, Charles Scanlon set to work.
He used strips of old tyres, patenting the "safety marker" in 1943, the first conical road marker. It had a heavy base so it could stay upright and bounce back from impact. It also had a hole in the top and base feet for easy pick-up and stacking.
The rest, as they say, is history.
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Civis’ language gripe this week is about "new records", especially the way 1News breathlessly proclaims them. Usually, this is from the sports news but not always. Taylor Swift received the treatment last Sunday night.
In case you haven’t cottoned on yet, the problem is with the word "new". A record by definition must be new. A record is a record is a record — even if this specific record is stuck!
